


After the Fact

by IDIC



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Hiding Medical Issues, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Procedures, Missing Scene, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-02-29 04:50:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18771544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IDIC/pseuds/IDIC
Summary: Missing scenes for Avengers Endgame.Stop here if you haven't seen the movie! Spoilers ahead.Tony returns from space.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This happens right after Captain Marvel brought Quill's ship to earth and Tony was greeted by Steve and Pepper.

 

They didn't even make it halfway across the mowed meadow back to the Avengers building before Pepper felt Tony get heavier and heavier. His arm was over her shoulders and it had turned from an embrace to supporting him.

She frowned, tried to see his face in the dark, but Tony's head was hanging low. The only thing she received was his wheezing. 

"Tony?" she asked, glancing over his back to Steve, who also must have felt the man's last reserves being depleted by having to walk.

Steve gave her a worried glance and lifted the inventor's other arm over his own shoulder keep the other man upright.

"You need a break? We could get a wheelchair," Pepper offered, careful they weren't overheard.

"No. I'm fine," Tony huffed, his voice thin and breathless.

Pepper realised Bruce had fallen back and started to speak to someone. She hoped he had called medical because Tony became weaker by the minute.

She knew Steve could probably carry Tony without even breaking a sweat, but they both knew the genius too well to know he'd fight them tooth and nails before allowing it.

When Tony started to pant like a marathon runner, she slowed down and both Tony and Steve had to do the same.

With her free hand, she lifted his chin up so she could see his eyes.

Tony's gaze was empty but he was aware enough to avoiding her questioning gaze deliberately.

"Can we please _not_ stop? I _so_ need a shower."

"Yeah, Mr Stank, you definitely do!" Rhodey called, catching up with them.

Tony giggled and it sounded a bit frantic.

Pepper could see the effort it took him to slowly put one foot in front of the other.

"Maybe we should..." she started.

"Don't even say it," Tony interrupted her. "You know what I need? One of my latest spare suits - this one is damaged." He looked down towards his chest, where the faint blue light glowed the way it always did.

Pepper assumed he desperately needed iron man to feel save at the moment.

She had so many questions about what had happened, she didn't know where to start.

Tony had not yet asked who else besides Peter had turned into dust. And she was glad he hadn't.

There were things more important right now than facing the horrific list of people they had lost.

In the distance, she saw a few people leave the building with a gurney, then head towards them, leaving the gurney by the door.

Tony must have missed it because he stubbornly moved on.

Some long moments later, the medics reached them. They were carrying a mobile oxygen supply and a large first aid bag.

Pepper and Steve stopped, and only then, the weak man between them lifted his head.

"Oh, please. Can we just not do that?"

"You're breathing as if you're having an asthma attack, Tony," Steve provided.

Bruce made a hand gesture that made it clear he wanted the oxygen mask. One of the medics handed it over and Bruce immediately placed it over his nose and mouth and fastened the elastic strings behind his head.

Stubbornly, Tony started to walk again, clearly not happy about interruption.

"Whoa," Bruce protested but stepped out of the way. The medic hurried to carry the oxygen container after them.

"At least this way I can't smell myself," Tony mumbled.

"What, spaceships don't have showers?" Pepper asked, aware that right now the man she loved was vulnerable and needed to cover it up no matter how ridiculous the conversation.

"Couldn't waste water for washing," Tony answered instead of making an airy remark, which kind of showed how much he was at the end of his tether.

 

They made it past the gurney and into the lit building.

Only when they reached the common room and Tony pulled his arms off Pepper's and Steve's shoulders, she realised how lost he must feel.   
He certainly looked like it standing in the middle of the large room.

The brutal bright light underlined his haggard features and the malnourishment. The lack of sustenance had turned his skin an unhealthy colour and the dark circles under his eyes showed how stressful 23 days of slowly running out of air and food must have been – on top of knowing half of humanity was gone and having to witness people turning into ashes.

Tony withered if he couldn't work on _something_ when he was depressed. The boredom must have been an additional source of stress.

"Tony, I want you in medical," Bruce winked them to go on.

But Tony silently shook his head and removed the oxygen mask from his face, then shoved it roughly back at the medic, who had the brains to back off.

"I need a shower first. Then a cheeseburger. After that I might be ready to face the shit."

"Please, you can't have a shower in your state. You might fall over. I want you on liquids and parenteral nutrition for starters," Bruce tried.

"No," Tony just said and turned towards the living spaces instead.

Bruce stepped in his way but didn't try to touch him.

"Tony?" he asked in a gentle tone.

Then it must have dawned on him that the genius just needed a break, because his gaze met Pepper's.

She nodded, although not liking the idea either.

Everyone was aware that Tony was very careful to hide signs of weakness even after all the fighting they had done together, especially when it came to emotional issues.

Tony wearily shuffled past Bruce and headed towards his apartment. Pepper grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then followed him.

"Any intake - very _very_ slowly! Just a few sips at a time," Bruce advised her.

"I'll make sure."


	2. Chapter 2

 

Tony had barely made it out of the common room when he realised that discarding the oxygen mask might have been a mistake. The spurt of energy the artificial supply had given him was fading, as was his strength. After a few more relatively steady steps, he started to stumble down the hall.

Although he tried to prevent it at first, then fought it desperately, his mind continued to plunge into chaos in slow mo. The fact that he had given up hope to make it back alive, but found he actually made it hitting home with unexpected intensity and a messy spectrum of overwhelming feelings he couldn't process.

He was home.

The nagging question if this was just a dream was there, made him doubt if what he saw was real.

Behind him, he heard Peppers steps. She kept her distance, followed slowly, gave him space.

The relief that Pepper had _not_ turned into ashes made his knees even weaker and the sounds of her steps was the best sound he had heard in a long time.

Reassuring and safe.

It took quite an effort to walk on.

Twenty-three days of longing for a shower had been enough. He wanted it _now_. Wanted out of those damn clothes that didn't belong to him, that smelled of desperation and infection.

After what felt like hours, he finally reached his apartment. The door opened automatically to let him in.

Inside, he had to lean against a wall to keep himself standing.

Before he could enter the bathroom, Pepper appeared behind him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Probably not, but I need it."

She had to help Tony into the bathroom, then left and he hoped she'd give him some more privacy.

However, the moment he slipped out of his trousers and shoes, she came back carrying a chair.

"Please can you just not...."

"No," she interrupted. "As you said before I caught you doing worse. There is nothing I haven't seen yet. So, why don't you just have a shower and allow me to be happy about having you back... I thought you were dead, Tony!"

He heard the tears in her voice and felt his own distress rise. He recorded messages to her in the hope that she was still alive. It was one of the few things that had kept him going in the past weeks.

He made a step towards her, hugged her, then winced when a cloud of his own smell rose up due to the movement.

"I'm gonna be sick if I have to endure my smell any longer. Please go and let me do this," he begged, trying to spare her the view of his emaciated body. In addition, he was sure she would freak out over the poorly healed stab wound. He was in no state to go through that at the moment.

"Alright, two conditions. One: you drink a bit of this first, two: the door stays wide open," she held up a bottle.

Nodding absentmindedly, he allowed her to push him into the chair.

"Where did you get that shirt?" she asked. It was a weak try to make small talk while she unscrewed the bottle. She handed him the water and he carefully took a first tiny sip.

"This tastes odd," Tony looked at the bottle, ignoring her question.

It was the same water they always ordered.

"It's the usual brand, the one you like best," she answered. "Let me try it?" 

She took a small sip and shook her head, "Tastes perfectly normal."

It must be his taste buds then, they always acted up when he was severely sick or injured.

Or maybe drinking recycled water in a freaking alien ship that was acquired from god knows where had affected his gustatory sense.

"Get me some coffee – or soda," he pleaded.

"No. But you can have some tea."

Tony brought himself to take another sip.

It tasted as sandy and empty as the first. He knew he was thirsty but this didn't feel as if it would ever satisfy his thirst no matter how much he'd drink.

"You know what? That actually sounds really good. Can you make some tea?" he asked.

She looked at him oddly, probably aware that it was another try to get rid of her.

With a sigh, she finally left him alone.

Tony stood up carefully to minimize the pain and grabbed the largest towel he could find. Before he stepped into the floor level shower, he tapped the environmental control panel and switched the glass stall from translucent to opaque. The bright light in the compound had started to give him a headache already and he dimmed the bathroom light and turned it blue. A moment later he realised he had just recreated the environment of Quill's ship.

He sighed, not sure he wanted it this way.

On the other hand, the blue glow that had lit the spaceship had emanated from one of the most awesome things he had ever seen. He was probably one of the handful of human beings who had ever seen a nebular up close.

It was one of the few good things from his twenty-three days in space, albeit the emptiness around the ship had been horrific. He would never look at a picture of a nebular or galaxy without being gripped by the existential angst that had accompanied him for the past three weeks.

The view had been both, spectacular and unnerving. Just a few hours ago, he had laid down to sleep in its glow, sure he would never wake.

The emotions started to overwhelm him.

It was all too much.

He heard himself gasp and gritted his teeth.

It had all happened so fast.

When that blonde woman had appeared outside the ship he was sure she must be a hallucination of his oxygen-deprived mind.

In a desperate try to shake the distress that was building, he hit the switch to start the water.  Sensory input sometimes helped to keep the panic at bay.

He hastily undressed all the way. The damaged armour housing was still on his chest and he unceremoniously plucked it off.

It had turned into a sentimental relict after the suit was damaged beyond repair, but he hadn't managed to part from it before. Besides a few coins and his phone, it had been one of the few personal belongings - even familiar objects - he had had with him in space.

Still uneasy to part with it, he adhered the armour to the outside of the glass stall and stepped under the rainfall showerhead.

It felt good.

So fucking good.

 

Tony just stood there for quite some time, enjoying the clean water and the sensation of it on his skin.

Until at some point he realised he was panting.

The hot water was not good for his blood pressure. He was forced to stretch out his arms to stabilise himself on both glass walls for a few moments.

The soap dispensers were within easy reach and he started to lather himself. His hair was so greasy it still felt odd after he washed it the second time. Somehow, it felt wrong.

So did his body when he washed it.

His rips were visible and every joint felt knobblier than it should. Bones were protruding everywhere and the skin felt thin and papery.

Nebula's improvised field surgery scar felt awful under his fingertips. He evaded looking at it or touching it at all. It was as much a mental scar as a physical one. That particular pain seemed to have bounded with the moment Peter had turned into dust under his hands.

The still present pain was a permanent trigger whenever he made a false movement. Everything that involved bending in the middle was still out of question.

After so many years of fighting PTSD, he had recently added a shitload of new trauma and triggers.

While he tried to decide if he wanted to do a second round of washing, his body suddenly became unbearably heavy.

He managed not to fall by leaning against the tiled wall. Tightness was working its way up from his stomach to his throat and he shook his head in denial.

Don't lose it now!

He squeezed his eyes shut while his body slid down the wall. It was more of a controlled fall than anything else.

For a moment, he sat on his haunches and decided he could stay like this for a bit until he gathered the strength to stand up again.

Instead, his body slowly tilted sideways and he found himself half sitting, half on his side on the ground. He used his left hand to stabilize himself to prevent falling face first onto the ground.

The movement hurt and he felt his face convulse into an anguished grimace.

He tried to relax, but instead, his contorted features seemed to have opened some emotional floodgates.

Desperately trying to fight the horrific emotions that exploded in his mind, he sat there.

Small soundless gasping sobs leaving him but he barely noticed them.

He had no control over it, was paralysed by it all - seeing Peter die, being critically injured, slowly dying of oxygen starvation, learning Pepper, Bruce, Rhodey, were alive and the snap had in fact erased half of all life on earth. It was an awful mixture of a string of traumata topped with some of the best news he could have hoped for.

Relief was mixing with horror and guilt about the fact that he had been lucky when so many others hadn't been.

There was also the anxiety that the briefing would mean learning how Vision died and who else had turned into ashes. Probably everyone who hadn't greeted him at the compound.

When that thought sank in, he felt anxiety hit him like a brick wall.

He had had several panic attacks while onboard the Benatar with Nebula and had made it quite clear he wanted privacy when it happened. She left him alone.

The memories of curling up in a corner of the small ship losing himself in anguish until his exhausted body switched him off made it worse.

Panic blossomed and he realised he was actually crying when the pain in his head exploded and every jerky exhale agitated the wound in his side.

Calm.

He needed calm and breathing and keeping it together.

But as it was with panic attacks, this need was completely floored by the sheer anguish of the situation.

At least he wasn't making too much noise.

Then he felt he was losing contact with his body, started to feel numb – physically and mentally.

This wasn't the first time he realised he was starting to dissociate but this time he didn't fight it.

Out of strength, he retreated into himself.

All physical sensations ebbed away.

His mind created the bubble he needed to escape from reality.

It felt like the state between sleep and wakefulness, a warm smooth numbness encasing his mind.

He floated in the void, carried by the watery static surrounding him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to know what readers think.


	3. Chapter 3

 

"Tony! Oh god!" The voice was a far away whisper that barely reached his awareness. "Tony!"

Light exploded around him and he tried to instinctively shy away from, but it was so bright even squeezing his eyes shut didn't keep it out.

He didn't know where he was and why the voice didn't sound like Nebula.

It felt surreal.

"Bruce!" Someone yelled.

More voices.

Running steps, a hand on his forehead.

The sensations were dulled and he felt out of it, but the panic still washed over him in huge nauseating waves.

"Tony! Look at me! Now!"

Pepper, it was Pepper.

He lifted his arm to cover his eyes, but it was so heavy he couldn't hold it up.

A gentle hand wrapped around his wrist, felt for his pulse.

Earth.

He was home.

There was oxygen and water and food and Pepper.

"'m fine! Stop fussing," he slurred.

"Yeah. On the floor, having a panic attack is so far from fine I won't even try to comment on that," Pepper mumbled.

Then awareness of his body came back, a hot agonising rush of sensations.

It felt horrible.

The lack of oxygen felt awful and familiar. His heartbeat was so intense it hurt.

Straining his heart like this could have severe consequences. He _really_ needed to calm down

He knew the drill, time to use it.

His next inhale went in through his nose and he slowly exhaled through his open mouth.

"That's good," Pepper cooed and stroked his head.

Concentrating was hard work, and at first, he couldn't really manage it, panted in between slow breaths several times.

The panic felt as if someone had ripped away the foundation of his existence.

Like free fall into doom, desperately trying to cling to a cliff that was about to give way.

Trying to picture calm and soothing environments didn't work and he stopped after the first try.

He still felt so very lost.

Although there were people surrounding him, he felt utterly alone and separated from them.

It took several minutes until his heart began to slow down a bit.

A towel appeared over his naked lower body, then another one was draped over his shoulders.

"We're gonna help you to your bed, relax," Bruce stated in a low voice while he gently sat him up.

Tony didn't bother to open his eyes.

Strong hands reached under his armpits and slowly lifted him up. Then more hands started to wrap a towel around his hips.

The touch was too much, he felt he was losing ground again. The panic worsened immediately.

"Oh god," Pepper suddenly cried and his eyes jerked open.

She was right in front of him, about to tuck in the end of the towel to keep it in place. Several things happened at once.

Apparently, she had spotted the large badly healed scar in his side.

Bruce was on that side holding him up and he must be as horrified as she was because he gasped.

To his surprise, he found Rhodey tilting his head up, trying to figure out what was happening.

Tony was out of breath and out of words. Before he could come up with something vertigo hit him so hard, his knees buckled.

"Woah!"

"Get him over to the bed, now!" Bruce barked.

Tony felt so disoriented, he wasn't even aware they were carrying him. Shame about his weakness mingled into the all-encompassing anxiety.

Only after they sat him down he realised they had moved him to the bed. Rhodey gently pushed him backwards, tried to make him lie back, but Tony fought him.

"Tones! Relax and let Bruce take care of you or I swear we will knock you out."

He was still panting hard when the fight went out of him, his arms sagged to the mattress and he allowed them to position him on his back, then lifted his legs up onto the mattress.

The bed dipped several times only seconds later. Someone had sat down on its edges.

"You're alright, try to relax," Bruce said in a low voice, picked up one of his hands and wrapped his skilled fingers around his wrist. Tony thought he was counting his pulse until a cool wetness started to move over the inside of his arm.

He jerked his arm away, "No drugs!"

"Tony, I need to get a line in, to give you fluids. You'd throw up if we gave you the amount you need by mouth," Bruce explained and his wrist was grabbed again, this time with a bit more force, the wiping continued and left his elbow crease wet.

Then something small and slightly cold was on his still heaving chest.

"Just listening to your heart and lungs for a bit," Bruce cooed.

A small hand appeared on his forehead and he knew it was Pepper's immediately.

"We've got you. It's alright," she whispered.

He didn't feel all right. He felt as if the next catastrophe was about to hit. Impending doom was waiting.

Bruce moved the bell of the stethoscope over his chest, resting it here and there for long moments, then addressed Rhodey.

"Get me that oxygen tank, please."

Without opening his eyes, Tony knew he went for it.

He was tired.

Breathing was exhausting.

It didn't take long until the mask reappeared on his face. Despite the awful plastic smell, it made breathing easier.

Feeling the oxygen run out had been a bad experience. When the air got thinner and thinner

doing the few steps from the Benatar's cockpit to the main area had turned into a hike with stops on the way to catch breath. Tony's lungs had done overtime and the memory of that would haunt him for the rest of his life. The dizziness and the loss of concentration were other annoying side effects.

He was trying to shove the memories away when suddenly a needle was shoved into his arm.

He couldn't suppress the surprised flinch.

"Gee, Banner give me a bit of a warning before..."

"Sorry, sorry," Bruce mumbled but wasn't really listening according to the tone. "Shit."

"What?" Tony asked, unnerved, and opened his eyes.

"I have to try again. You're so dehydrated it's hard to puncture the vein and get the cannula in."

It took four more tries – which meant four more needles - until the catheter was finally in place.

After gently shoving the thin plastic tube into the vein, Bruce meticulously taped the port down. Meanwhile Rhodey was send out again, this time to ask the medic waiting in the kitchen to prepare IV bags with liquids and vitamins - and warm them up.

Only then Tony realised he was shaking. Things were still hazy.

"I suggest you get some rest," Bruce said.

"Can somebody get me a working armour housing? The one I was wearing is broken?" he asked, realising he felt naked somehow.

No one reacted.

"I want an update on what happened and I guess you all want to know how..." Tony stopped, unable to summarize the horrific things that had occurred on Titan. Having to express it would make things so much worse.

Pepper all but fled the room, and Tony hoped she would fetch one of the nanotech armours from the living room. He had spare ones hidden at several frequently used spots on the compound.

"Are you finished?" Tony sat up and clenched his teeth when black dots started to appear in his field of vision.

"For now. Take it slow," Bruce warned.

Pepper returned with the armour and with shaking hands, he attached it to his bare chest. When she started to rub dry his hair, he insisted she collected some trainers.

Instead, she brought some pyjama bottoms and a dressing gown. She and Bruce had to help him into the clothes because he was barely able to grip anything.

In the meantime, Rhodey reappeared with a large bag of clear liquid and an IV stand that was attached to a wheelchair. The same wheelchair Rhodey had used in the beginning, before Tony had made him a custom one.

The chair broadcasted weakness like nothing else but the shakiness and exhaustion was so bone deep Tony knew he wouldn't even make it across the room under his own power.

Tony had already taken breath to comment on how much he hated the idea to use the chair but in the last moment realised that Rhodey depended on wheelchairs or the exoskeleton for the rest of his life.

If Rhodey could use it with dignity, he could at least try.

He was home, this was family. They had seen him stricken before. Nevertheless, the upbringing by his father could never be erased. Although he didn't want to, he felt ashamed for his weakness when he looked at the chair.

"Tony?" Bruce clapped his hands in front of his face.

Clapping, that was odd.

Didn't people usually snap their fingers to get someone's attention who had zoned out?

Snapping... right.

Snapping had probably evolved into a very very bad thing to do, reminded people of the end of the world as they knew it and every loved one they had lost.

Tony scrunched his eyes shut when that awareness hit him.

"Hey, hey, hey...You're okay?" Rhodey asked.

"Yeah," he grunted and felt Bruce fumble with the IV port. A moment later liquid started to flow into his arm. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Bruce, still sitting on the bed to his left, the wheels parked next to him.

"You want something to fight that..." Bruce started, but Tony interrupted him.

"No drugs!"

"Okay. If you promise me to try to eat some soup or thin porridge, you can go to the common room," Bruce looked at him questioningly.

"Yeah, alright doctor mother hen," Tony agreed. "I need a pair of glasses. Preferably a tinted pair," he said to no one in particular.

Getting into the chair took longer than expected and left Tony trembling and exhausted.

 

A bit later, they arrived back at the common room.

The blonde woman who had saved the Benatar as well as Nat and Steve were waiting, giving Tony glances he couldn't quite figure out. There was clearly distress, maybe worry.

Bruce pushed him to the table and when Tony looked around, he spotted Thor sitting hunched over with his elbows on his knees in the back of the large room.

No one was speaking.

The silence was heavy and tense.

It seemed no one dared to ask him what had happened and he didn't dare asking them either but everyone was desperate for information.

"Alright, we followed the wizard to space, met some more or less friendly aliens on tour with a human. Then Thanos obtained the stones. Nebular figured he snapped his fingers," he hesitated, unable to say Peter's name, "Everyone but the two of us turned into dust. We tried to return to earth with the spaceship," he droned out.

More silence.

Someone put a bowl in front of him but he didn't give it any attention.

"Who else has vanished?" he asked, now impatient to get the painful part over with.

"Tony..." Natasha started, her voice hoarse. It was clearly difficult to discuss this. Then she went over to one of the interfaces and pulled up a folder that contained personal files. Pictures and descriptions appeared in the air, showing people who had apparently vanished.

Tony was staring at the images, nauseous from the loss and grief he felt when one by one half of the people close to him were shown. It was an endless stream it seemed.

At some point, he just couldn't look at the lost ones any longer. The tightness in his chest was getting unbearable and he knew he would lose control of his features if he looked at one more picture.

"World's governments are in pieces," Nat started to explain the general situation. He had to concentrate hard to listen and understand her low voice.

Then Peter's image appeared on the display and he buried his face behind his hands in a desperate try to hide his distress.

The conversation turned into a sitrep and Tony tried his best to be his eloquent sarcastic self. It worked until Steve took over and asked for more details about what had happened on Titan.

That was when suddenly anger flared up in Tony, he hadn't seen Rogers since their fight in Siberia, where Steve had left him behind, critically injured.

His frustration about Cap's behaviour skyrocketed and all the pain it had caused rushed to the forefront of his mind.

Tony was somewhat proud of himself about the fact that he managed to coolly state what he disliked about Steve's behaviour and how disappointed he was.

Controlling his emotions was something he had learned early in life, by courtesy of his father.

On the outside, his anger was probably visible but seemed controlled. He was too much of a professional to condescend to really mean comments.

However, inner turmoil started to become overwhelming.

The anger part he could handle, what was far more difficult was the agony of betrayal, abandonment, and the loss of everything he held dear.

For a long time, he had dreaded meeting Rogers again – for months after Siberia, the thoughts of what he would say to Cap if they ever met again had driven circles in his head.

The stirred up emotions suddenly gave him an adrenaline rush that made him even more uncomfortable. His heartbeat started to hurt again. On the other hand, it enabled him to get out of the chair and voice his dislike.

He clumsily unplugged the IV tube from the port with a lot more force than necessary. The act alarmed Rhodey so much, he stepped in his way and tried to physically stop him.

That was when he wondered if maybe his anger was more visible than he thought.

Fed up with the world in general and additionally all the problems he tried had been left to solve without Steve's and the avenger's support he felt something break inside him.

He was done.

They lost.

It was all for nothing.

No happy end.

Things would never get back to normal.

The realisation sucked out all will to fight he had left.

He felt helpless, out of options.

There was no good he could do.

No matter how much he tried, he would lose.

Steve's desire to do something useless just to do something was futile. Tony had no strength left to even try to explain it to him. Besides, no one would listen anyway.

Even all his hopes were dead.

He had seen it coming, had tried to prepare the world, no one had listened.

The shit had hit the fan.

His worst nightmares had come true.

All he had fought to prevent it had been boycotted by people he had trusted.

Desperate and at the end of his tether he ripped the armour from his chest, shoved it into Steve's hand.

If Steve wanted to, he could take up saving a world that was already lost.

He wanted to leave Steve standing there, bang a door behind him.

Unfortunately, his body decided it was enough.

He didn't even mange to turn away from Cap before he collapsed.

At this point, he was more surprised and annoyed than anything else – at least for a moment.

Then he realised he was struggling to breathe.

Several pairs of hands reached out to stabilise him, but only Rhodey touched him - briefly.

"'m fine," he wheezed, fighting for air and control.

He felt quite sick.

Then sudden darkness rolled over him, knocked awareness out of him and released him of his misery.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am aware my English is not perfect. Forgive me, I'm not a native speaker.  
> If someone is out there who would like to beta this, please let me know.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't really written for this fandom before. Please point out continuity or canon mistakes if I you find any.


End file.
